Polar hyper-cross-linked resin with abundant micropores/mesopores and its enhanced adsorption toward salicylic acid: Equilibrium, kinetics, and dynamic operation

Here, a ternary copolymerization method was performed for p-vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC), divinylbenzene (DVB), and methylacrylate (MA), and the precursor resin poly (VBC-co-DVB-co-MA) (PVDM) was synthesized. After that, the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction and the amidation reaction were carried out for the VBC moieties and the acrylate moieties, and hence a polar hyper-cross-linked resin (abbreviated as PVDM-P-A) was prepared. This resin possessed high BET surface area (1010 m2/g), abundant micro/mesopores, 0.58 mmol/g of amide, and 1.60 mmol/g of amino groups. The adsorption experiments indicated that it had a large equilibrium (457.9 mg/g) and dynamic capacity (394.1 and 453.5 mg/g wet resins for the breakthrough and saturated capacity) toward salicylic acid, and it was superior to its precursor resins and some other adsorbents reported in literature. Particularly, the adsorption was very fast, 40 min was sufficient to reach equilibrium, suggesting that it was a potential candidate for adsorptive removal of salicylic acid from aqueous solution.